Ladbrokes and Coral owner Entain cites good progress in 'must-win markets' as core profits rise in 2024

Leading gambling industry operator Entain has been through a turbulent period in recent months but it had good news to report to the City as it published its financial results for 2024 on Thursday.

The company was able to put last month's sudden departure of chief executive Gavin Isaacs to one side as it revealed core profits for 2024 of £1.09 billion, up 13 per cent on 2023 and at the top end of previous guidance.

Net gaming revenue (NGR), excluding the US, was up nine per cent at £5.16bn.

Stella David, who has returned to the role of interim chief executive which she held for the first eight months of last year, told the Racing Post that a lot of hard work had led to the improvement in results.

"We said at the beginning of 2024 that our must-win markets would be the UK, Brazil and the US and in all three of them we can cite really, really good progress," she added.

In the US, Entain's joint-venture BetMGM delivered net revenue of $2.1 billion, up seven per cent year-on-year, and stabilised its market share at 14 per cent.  

There was also good news from Brazil, the fastest growing market outside of the US, with NGR rising by 41 per cent.

Although NGR in the UK and Ireland was flat across 2024, the division returned to growth sooner than expected in the third quarter, and grew by 21 per cent in the fourth quarter.

"I think we have to give the credit to the UK team," David said. "The online and the retail team merged into one, a really focused leadership team. That makes a big difference.

"We did a lot of product development for the UK so improving the customer experience, giving them more choices."

Entain also said the voluntary code on customer checks introduced last May by the Betting and Gaming Council had been a turning point in reducing friction for punters.

The Gambling Commission is currently carrying out a pilot of 'frictionless' affordability checks and David said it was important that there was an "open dialogue" about the process.

She added: "As we know people are very averse to having invasive checks on their personal lives and therefore trying to make sure we have the right balance between a frictionless process and also protecting vulnerable people is important.

"I think that's why having an open dialogue is important in these things. The consequences of not doing it right is that the black market grows."

Entain has begun the search for a permanent chief executive after Isaacs left little more than five months after taking the role.

David, who had been Entain's chair during that time, said: "I am a hundred per cent focused on working with the team on the operations of the business for as long as I do the job, and I will do the job for as long as it makes sense for me to do the job.

"Separately there will be a process the board will go through to ascertain what is the right solution for the long-term CEO, but it is not our focus. The business gets on with the business and the board gets on with that."

Analysts at Davy Research said of Entain's results: "Our sense is that the business has made improvements in its key markets, which is encouraging – particularly in the UK."

Entain's share price was down 6p at 736.2p on Thursday afternoon.

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